My Ninja Way
by Linndor
Summary: After the Fourth Shinobi War, Sakura leaves for three years and returns only to reveal that she has blossomed into a beauty. The council has ordered a certain Uchiha to revive his clan. She is the only one that fills the emptiness in his heart, but what happens when she is assigned on a mission that requires her to be the wife of the daimyo's son? Rated M for later chapters!
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fanfic! I finally had the courage to post this up. I hope you all enjoy :D

**I do not own Naruto!**

* * *

Subtle rain drops began to fall, washing away the blood and sweat from the fair skin of an exhausted pink haired kunoichi.

"Hang in there Naruto!" two gentle hands trembled, emitting a light green glow as she pushed hard to use all her chakra. There was no way Sakura would let her beloved teammate die without fulfilling his dream. There was no way that this knuckle head will die after everything he has done.

"_I will not let any of my friends die!"_

"_Don't you understand!? If we don't kill the tailed beasts now, everything will happen all over again! I will stop this corrupted system, even if it means killing you." Lightning clashed with wind._

_"There are other options; I'll prove it to you. Everyone will live in peace including you, my friend". A flash of blinding light exploded on the battle field._

'Oh Naruto… You did more than enough to save everyone…' emerald eyes began to water up as long eyelashes fluttered down to prevent any tears from falling off her face. She bit the bottom of her lip, suppressing any more emotions to better her focus.

Her concentration was interrupted by the release of a grunt from her raven haired ex-teammate. She opened her eyes as she moved her vision to Sasuke who was on the ground just a few feet away from his former opponent Naruto.

Silence filled the air. This was a moment of peace.

She spoke softly "Sasu-"

"Sakura-chan… That's enough now, Teme needs your help more than I do." Naruto revealed one blue orb and looked up at her, grinning to her cheekly.

Sakura's face softened as emerald met his and curved her lips into a slight smile. The glow on her hands came to a halt, and crawled on her knees slowly towards her fallen ex-teammate. She knelt on Sasuke's right side, and observed the raven-haired shinobi with a serious look of concern.

She placed her hands forward to hover above the Uchiha's chest. A green glow illuminated in the air once again.

The bottom of his rib cage as well as other bones was broken, several organs were severely damaged, and his chakra levels were barely noticeable. Sakura shut her eyes, desperately focusing all her energy to keep his life from slipping away. Tears began to shed.

'Where am I? Am I…'

A vision of his family became vivid in his mind.

'Oni-san…'

Sasuke's life flashed before him. Memories of his family, team 7, and his journey of revenge instantly appeared in only a few seconds. A sudden memory of ocean waves and colorful flashing lights came to his mind as a familiar presence; rather a certain chakra ran through his body, drawing him further away from the light.

Warm drops of tears fell on the surface of ivory white cheeks, bringing him back to reality.

"Sa…Kura," he uttered quietly. His eyelids remained shut. Raindrops continued to fall, washing off the blood that seeped out of his skin.

"Don't talk. You'll use up too much of your strength" Sakura continued to heal, squeezing out the remaining bits of her chakra.

"…I'm surprised you're not sobbing" Sasuke said slowly. His mind briefly drifted to all the times she would come to him with open arms embracing his body as she cried all over him. This was something he wasn't used to.

Sakura hummed "Well _Sasuke_, things have changed." she could have sworn her eyebrow twitched at his arrogance.

"Hn." He replied.

Soft eyelids slowly opened to reveal onyx orbs that gazed at her soft and delicate features. She looked quite different from their previous encounters. It seemed as if his dear comrade grew not only physically but emotionally as well. Tired eyes drifted to the rhombus mark on her forehead. Yes. She most certainly did look different.

Sakura felt the presence of his stare and weakly looked back at him. "Better?" she asked tilting her head, with a slight smile on her face.

"Ah," Sasuke said with a stoic look, gazing directly into her jade eyes.

"Good. Now it's time for you to come back home." She spoke delicately before collapsing down to the ground. She outdid herself once again.

The world around her faded to black.

The rain stopped drizzling over countless bodies of the living and the dead shinobi. The Uchiha quickly shifted his eyes, watching as Sakura dropped to floor right beside him. Their face in proximity, as he felt her warm breath brushing lightly on his face. How long has it been since he's been this close to her?

He shut his eyes, and let out a sigh of relief.

The war finally came to an end.

* * *

"So I was all like 'EAT THIS OBITO!' and Sakura-chan was like 'SHANNARO!' " Naruto made a fist punching the air, imitating the pink haired shinobi beside him. Three months had passed since the end of the 4th shinobi war and many countries as well as ninjas were slowly getting back on their feet from recovering, including Team 7.

A grin was plastered on Sakura's face as she clenched her fists in annoyance. She was on the verge of punching him just like she did with the ten-tails.

"Wow! Naruto nii-chan! I wish I was there to watch it all happen" Konohamaru's gaze fell onto the table. Naruto made a fist and offered it to the boy in front of him.

"Heh! Don't worry Konohamaru, you did your part too with protecting the village" The blond hiccupped as the brunette looked up to his hero, with a smile returning back to his face and bumped their fists.

"Oi! Hostess-chan! Another bottle of sake please!" He waved his hand obnoxiously in the air to catch the waitress' attention. The young woman couldn't help but blush and smile warmly at him.

"H-Hai!" the waitress quickly went back into the kitchen to retrieve his order. A kind smile never left the blond's face.

"Don't you think you had too much to drink?" Sakura frowned. Did he really want to get punched?

"Sakura-chan, don't you think you're being too uptight? I mean, you should really remove that kunai up your-"

Sakura's arm rose swiftly, and threw a punch at the back of Naruto's head.

"Baka!" She relaxed her muscles, and chugged the remaining contents of sake in the bottle. If she kept this up, she would truly follow under her master's footsteps which included drinking _and_ gambling.

"Naruto nii-chan, you even brought back Sasuke too! I knew you could do it," Sakura's attention snapped from her inner thoughts to her teammate's face. The three of them sat in silence. Sakura recalled her work schedule for tomorrow and how she must perform a check up on the last Uchiha. Avoiding him at this point was futile.

It's not like she didn't _want_ to avoid him. It's not like they've been trying to retrieve him all these years, only to have been almost killed by his lightning fury. It's not like she was trying to get over him but then he suddenly shows up out of nowhere and decides to protect the village.

His return meant nothing to her. Nope. No feelings whatsoever

But, the thought of placing her stethoscope on his rock hard chest made her legs feel like… Jelly.

The waitress returned with a bottle of sake, and retrieved the empty one. She bowed to the three patrons and took one quick look at Naruto before attending another customer.

Sakura smirked at the scene, and grabbed the bottle of sake before the blond ninja could even lay his eyes on it. She poured the contents in her cup and took another shot. She's definitely going to feel this in the morning.

"Heheh" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I'm glad he's back! He's going to be released out of probation tomorrow! I wonder how interrogation was like with Ibiki-sensei" a vision of Ibiki's intimidating face and distorted head entered the mind of three ninjas. Shivers ran through their bodies.

The blond shinobi reached for the sake and poured it into his cup. A sudden thought came to his mind as he took a sip of the alcohol, feeling the liquid burn down his throat. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion and turned his vision to the set of green orbs.

"By the way Sakura-chan, why did you bring us here to _Shogun_, you usually never treat us to dinner!" Naruto looked at her with one eyebrow raised, gulping in the remaining sake in his cup.

"Oh! I wanted to announce that I'll be leaving tomorrow night to the Land of Birds. The duration will be three years." Sakura replied in a nonchalant tone.

Naruto spat his drink at the poor little ninja's face who sat in front of him.

"NARUTO NII-CHAN KORE!"

"SAKURA-CHAN, WHAT THE HELL?! Ah! Whoops, sorry Konohamaru!" The blond shinobi smiled warmly at the boy, hoping that he would look past this. "This is so sudden, why are you going there?" Naruto asked as he handed tissues to Konohamaru, who feared to go home knowing he smelled like alcohol.

"I've been planning this trip for a while, but since the war was in progress, I didn't have a chance to go. One of Tsunade's masters lives up there so I'm planning on enhancing all my jutsus!" Sakura hiccupped as she lifted her arm to flex and grinned at the two, who were frantically cleaning up the mess.

"With that being said…" Sakura rose from her seat, and placed money on the table. "I have to start packing now! I'll be leaving tomorrow after work, so don't forget to bid me farewell!" Sakura waved her hand in the air before leaving the two ninjas and stumbled outside of the restaurant.

The nightly breeze brushed through pink locks, as she gazed up to soak in the beauty of glistening stars.

Tomorrow, Sakura was going to embark in her own journey in hopes of becoming a better ninja. The thought of having others look at her back brought a smile to her face.

* * *

The next day, Sakura sat in her office in Konoha Hospital, finishing off her paperwork from her most previous patient.

She sighed as she attached two photographs to the medical document.

"Herpes at its finest" She placed the document into a folder and positioned it neatly into the filing cabinet. She looked up at the clock in anticipation of her next patient.

High pitched squeals were heard from down the hall. That was the signal. Sakura began to take out a file that was placed in the cabinet with last names that started with the letter "U".

Her office door opened to reveal the raven haired ninja in his grey high-collared zipper shirt and dark pants with a prominent rope belt around his waist. Hasn't he learned how to knock?

"Hey Sasuke-kun" the kunoichi turned to look at him with a bright smile on her face, ignoring her inner thoughts.

"Sakura" He acknowledged her, closing the door behind him.

"Actually, you're going to have to follow me into the examination room. There are a couple of procedures that I need to follow, but this will only be a brief check up to see how your body has been." Sakura explained in a professional tone.

"Ah" he turned around to walk out of the room and waited till she stepped out to lead the way. This was the first time he saw her since the day they got back to Konoha. He found it unusual that she didn't come to visit him while he was under confinement.

"Do you think they're dating?"

"I don't think so! You know how Sakura-sama is; she never gives men a chance!" Sasuke's ears perked up to the two female nurses that stood behind the desk.

"Ah! I envy her. She gets to inspect and have her hands _all_ over that Uchiha under _all_ those robes!" The young medical nurse whispered to her fellow colleague, letting out a fan girl giggle.

Sakura overheard the conversation of the two gossiping girls, and stomped her way over to the desk, placing her hand on her hip.

"Don't you ladies have any work to do?" she glared at the two young women.

"N-n-no S-Sakura-sama" the young girl trembled in fear, avoiding eye contact from her superior.

Sasuke grew more and more irritated as he stood by Sakura's side. He just wanted to get the hell out of there.

"Well then, there are documents on my desk just _waiting_ to have someone have their hands _all _over them!" Sakura replied enthusiastically, before walking away with Sasuke following.

"H-Hai!" The sound of scrambling footsteps got further and further.

The medical-nin opened the door to reveal a typical examination room, allowing the Uchiha to enter the facility first. Sakura closed the door behind her and walked over to the counter to review her clipboard.

"Please take a seat on the examination bed" she commanded him as he sat on the edge of the soft surface.

He watched her flipped through the documents, reviewing the text as she took a few locks of her hair and placed them behind her right ear. How come she never took the time to visit him? Does she still resent him, despite the fact that he returned to the village; to his home? How was he supposed to rebuild his bonds with the people of Konoha, especially with _her_? Why was he asking so many questions?

She looked back at him only to find that he was already looking at her, waiting to hear what she will say next. Sakura looked at him with a confused look. Doesn't he know how a visit at the doctor's was like?

Sasuke gazed into her deep emerald eyes and was locked into a trance. Ever since his life flashed before him at the end of the war, he couldn't help but wonder why he kept seeing a certain pink haired kunoichi in his head.

Maybe she really did changed. Maybe the Sakura he knew wasn't the same anymore. Since when were other girls afraid of _her_? She looked like she wouldn't even hurt a fly. But then again, he did see what she was capable of doing back then on the battlefield.

"Take off your shirt" she ordered in a flat tone breaking him away from his innermost thoughts.

"What?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"I said, _take off_ your shirt" does she really have to repeat it twice? It was hard enough the first time.

Sasuke obeyed, and took the zipper of his shirt bringing it down slowly. He ripped the clothed material off his skin, tossing it to the side only to reveal beautifully chiseled muscles and milky white skin. His pecs stood out from his body, and a toned eight-pack sat right below it. She made sure her jaw was closed to prevent herself from drooling.

Sakura forced herself to look away and maintain her composure. She looked back and quickly looked away, wearing a pretty blush on the surface of her cheeks.

Sasuke grinned at the sight before him. At least a bit of her is there.

The medical-nin released a sigh, and walked over to the bed where he was sitting; wearing a poker face to show that she will not be affected by his godly like body. She reached for her stethoscope that snaked around her neck, and placed it lightly over his chest.

He hissed at the cool sensation that touched his skin.

"Take a deep breath."

Sasuke took a deep breath. Her scent filled his nostrils. He exhaled.

Coal eyes widened at the realization that her face was only a few inches away from his. She was facing the wall to concentrate on the sounds of his heartbeat and slowly moved around the stethoscope on the other side of his chest. Bright emerald eyes sparkled right before him, as he found his gaze over to her slightly parted pink lips. His heart began to beat faster.

Sakura furrowed her brows and backed away slowly taking out her pen. She reached for her clipboard and jotted down a few notes.

"What is it?" Sasuke examined her as she took off the ear buds of the stethoscope.

"Looks like you actually have a heart!" she smirked and slowly placed the clipboard down, then placed the pen back into the pocket of her medical coat.

"Hn" he glared at her in response.

The pink haired ninja reached for the blood pressure meter that sat on a hook, and wrapped the cuff around his toned biceps. She placed one hand on her hips, as the other squeezed on the bulb.

He watched as she did her job, feeling the pressure around his arm tighten. He observed how flawless her porcelain skin looked, and how perfect her pink hair fell into place. He cursed himself. Why was she annoying him in his head?

Her gaze met ebony eyes. She smiled warmly at him and released the cuff around his arm.

"I need to check if your wounds have been healing correctly" Sakura placed her hands in front of his chest and looked at him for approval.

"Ah" he nodded and watched as her hands began to emit a green glow.

She traced the glow over his chest as she struggled to suppress a blush. This would have been a dream come true if she was still a kid.

"Tsunada-sama performed her surgery flawlessly as expected" She smiled as she continued to examine his body.

Sasuke watched as delicate fingers hovered downwards to his lower abdomen. He tightened his jaw.

She got on her knees and began to observe the muscles on his right thigh. He watched as she concentrated on her job, oblivious to the fact that a slight blush was plastered on his face.

She was so close to his… Sasuke referred back to the rare yet _naughty_ dreams he had of his pink haired teammate, which occurred not only when he was in confinement, but also during his quest of revenge.

He felt his blood rush to the lower part of his form as he looked at her parted lips. 'Shit… Okay, Kakashi in a maid outfit. Wait, Sakura would look good in that. Dammit. Orochimaru taking off his dentures, and making a slobbery mess... Yes, that's pretty gross' He bit his bottom lip in concentration as he continued to stare at the medical-nin.

"Well, the wounds you had are healing fine but it will leave a scar" She got up to her feet and looked right back at him.

"Hn."

"Sasuke quit staring. I know you hate visiting the doctors but you're almost done! Just one shot and-"

"Wait, what? Shot?" he snarled as he gave her an Uchiha death glare.

"Now now Sasuke, you're a big boy now. I'm sure you can handle a poke on your arm" she released the cuff from his limb and walked over to the drawer, pulling out a syringe.

Sasuke looked franticly around the room for an escape.

But there was no way out.

Maybe if he put her in a genjutsu, he could escape using the door.

She looked back at him with a devilish grin and pushed the end of the syringe, giving it a little squirt. Who knew that this cold bastard was scared of _this_?

"Sa-suke-kun" she purred "You're not scared of... This little thing, are you?"

"Tch" He looked away and stared at the needle in her hand.

Were needles always this big? She must have taken the biggest one for him! Why must she despise him?

He looked at the door and prepared to bolt out until all movements were stopped. Since when did he have chakra restrains on him?

The kunoichi was now standing in front of him with a smirk on her face.

"Hold still" she chimed as she began to move closer to his form. A bead of sweat fell down on the side of Sasuke's face.

His onyx eyes flared into crimson, oblivious to the fact that she was standing between his knees.

Genjutsu it is.

Before his sharingan could transform into its second stage, he froze at the warm and soft sensation of plump lips that kissed his forehead.

He looked at her with a surprised expression before turning it into a frown. No one has ever dared to make such physical contact with him. Except for the dobe.

"What do _you_ think you're doing?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Giving you your shot!" she grinned at him before placing a pink band aid on his arm.

"All done." She said casually before walking away and dispensing the syringe.

Sasuke growled. She caught him off guard once again.

"You can't just do that and then-"

Sakura shoved a cherry flavored lollipop into his mouth and patted the top of his head "Relax Sasuke-kun, that wasn't too bad, was it? I usually pull sneaky tricks like this on Naruto when he needs a shot."

She smiled for a second before Sasuke grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from his head. His other hand pulled out the lollipop away from his mouth. She _knows_ he doesn't like sweets, yet this lollipop wasn't too bad and the taste reminded him of her scent that he inhaled earlier. He smiled inwardly.

He glared at her and turned away his head.

"Thank you, Sakura."

His gaze turned back to her and released his grip from her wrist. She looked back at him and nodded before walking away. Maybe the kiss-on-forehead trick wasn't a good idea. She felt a slight familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Anytime, you're lucky we did the check up now before I leave. If someone else did it, I don't know how they would even manage getting close to you." she removed her coat and placed it on the hook.

'Before you leave?' he didn't bother asking. He just wanted to go home.

She opened the door and looked behind to find him putting back his shirt on. She smiled softly and turned away "See you later Sasuke."

"Ah."

And just like that, she was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Naruto!**

* * *

The sound of rustling leaves offered a warm feeling in the heart of the pink haired shinobi. Oh, how she missed the village so much. Training with an old slug hermit was not a typical vacation to a beach resort.

Sakura sighed at her recent memories of training with the old hag that her master once trained under. It was brutal. Sleeping outside for three years in different weather conditions, almost getting killed at least three times a week, washing an old lady's back every day… Everything was just a walk in a park. Shedding blood, sweat, and tears became a daily for the ninja.

However, training with the old hermit that was once a vixen did come with its perks. Not only did her chakra control, endurance, jutsus, and physical strength increase but her physique had developed stunningly.

Sakura smirked at the beauty sessions she had with the wise hermit. Learning about all the different types of unique ointments for skin and hair had benefit the kunoichi than she could ever imagine. Not even her teacher Tsunade received such special training on this subject matter.

But one thing that Tsunade and her student was blessed to go through, was the old hermit's _beauty_ _enhancing_ jutsu.

How else did the blonde possess such massive melons? The secret enhancing technique had only been used on selected students that the hermit favored the most.

What was once perky size A breasts, were now two perfectly rounded and slightly heavy size C. It wasn't that noticeable with the new robes she wore, but she did look much older than she did.

She continued her journey from branch to branch on full speed 'I wonder if anyone remembered that I was coming home today'. She then recalled a memory of the night she left Konoha

_"Sakura-Channn! Can't you bring us with you!?"_ _Naruto pleaded as he hugged her farewell. Sai, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto stood in front of the gates as they all exchanged their goodbyes._

"_Sorry Naruto, but this is my journey and I have to do this on my own." She smiled warmly, fighting hard to shed any tears._

_"Be safe ugly! Ino couldn't make it to say bye, but she gave me this" Sai handed her a green pouch._

_Sakura took is and peaked inside. Her face was written in horror._

_"I believe it is a device that can help stimulate a sexual orgasm. She said you'll need it on your trip" he gave his trademark yet false looking smile before Naruto punched his head. Sasuke remained silent and stoic as he watched the two males. _

_"What the hell did you give her!?" Naruto looked at the bag and tried to snatch it before Sakura shoved it into her bag._

_"Tell her thanks… But I don't think I'll use it." She lied._

_Kakashi appeared behind Team 7 and scratched the back of his head "Sorry I'm late everyone! You see Anko was-" _

_"There's no time for that Kakashi-sensei! Hurry and give your gift to Sakura-chan before it gets too dark!" Naruto looked at his teacher, watching him pull out an Icha Icha novel from a plastic bag._

_"Here you go Sakura-chan, I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did." The white haired jounin handed her the book as he smiled behind his mask. She hesitated to take it._

_"Uhm… thanks Kakashi-sensei but-"_

_"It's perfect. It will complement the device Ino gave her." Sakura and Naruto glared at Sai while Kakashi only blushed behind his mask._

_"Oh, you don't say" Kakashi placed his opened porn novel in front of his face "So, what is this device exactly?" _

_"Sai!" Naruto gritted his teeth. Sasuke crossed his arms in irritation._

_"What? Maybe you're just jealous because the vibrator is bigger than your dick."_

_"OI! WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Naruto growled as Kakashi held him back from lunging at Sai._

_"GUYS! Can you all stop being morons for a second?" Sakura pinched her nose bridge in annoyance. _

_"S-sorry Sakura-chan… Here! I got you something." The blond ninja revealed a cup of instant ramen with a large smile plastered on his face. Sakura sighed and thanked the ninja before placing the gift into her bag._

_Two sets of masculine eyes fell onto the ebony haired shinobi. Their teacher spoke up "Well Sasuke, what do you have to offer to Sakura-chan?" the Uchiha slowly looked at Sakura. Their eyes met for a second before she looked away and scratched the side of her cheek._

_"Its fine Sasuke-kun, you really don't have to get me anything" before she could even think, he tossed a small box to her direction. She caught the object before it hit the ground. He could at least hand it to her like everyone else, but she didn't complain as he wasn't the type to give gifts away._

_"Looks like traitor-kun actually has a heart." Sai rubbed the back of his head where the punch left a throbbing pain. _

_"Heh, it took a lot of convincing but Teme finally cracked and managed to get something nice." Naruto nudged Sakura as she looked back at onyx eyes that found the ground very interesting._

_She opened the small box to reveal a pair of sparkling white gold earrings. A small, circular stud held up a long white gold chain that carried an Uchiha crest made out of small diamonds and rubies._

_"Sasuke… This is beautiful, where did you get this?" she looked back at him in total shock._

_"Hn. They're just a friendly reminder of how strong the Uchiha clan is." He placed his hands in his pocket, and spoke slowly without making any eye contact with her "So, get stronger." _

Sakura smiled as she came to a stop in front of Konoha gates, shining jewels dangled below her earlobe. She _did _get stronger and she was determined to show them how much she changed.

The guard recognized the medical-nin and signaled for the gates to open. She entered the village only to reveal a familiar pair that greeted her from the side.

"Sakura-chan? Is that you?" Izumo spoke as he examined the woman from head to toe.

"Woa! Sakura-chan, you're back! And might I say you look…" Kotetsu grinned before Izumo elbowed him on his side.

"Hokage-sama should be waiting for you at the tower." The brunette stated as he smiled warmly at her "Welcome back to Konoha."

"Thank you." She smiled and winked at the two before leaping into the streets.

"Will you stop that?" Izumo looked over at his partner and handed him a tissue.

"Can't you see what a doll she is?" Kotetsu took the tissue and stuffed it up his nostril.

"If she finds out you got the hots for her, she might send you over the walls of the city." He scratched his head and let out a sigh.

* * *

"Preserving the clan will help strengthen and prosper the village!" the two council members Koharu and Homura stood in the hokage's office.

"It is evident that this Uchiha has repented for his sins and earn his way up the ranks. Being the head of the Konoha Military Police Force, he has earned the trust of the villagers making it easier to find a suitable wife." Homura explained as he looked over to the raven haired ninja.

Sasuke's head throbbed. He was called out of work only to find out that he was being ordered to repopulate his clan. Sure, reviving his clan was his second goal in life but he never gave it thought on how he was supposed to accomplish that now that pressure was being put upon it. He didn't even know much on _how_ you're supposed to revive a clan or anything about repopulating. The only thing he's been taught to do is how to become a stronger ninja.

"You can't just make him find a wife! Half of the village women are scared of him!" Naruto shot back.

"That's fine. We can turn the new Uchiha compound into a harem, I'm sure he would enjoy it." Homura simply stated.

"I'm not going to have random women bear my children nor will I marry multiple wives. Besides," Sasuke felt Naruto's stare. The dobe was grinning at him like a fool, waiting for his friend it finish his sentence.

Sasuke scowled "If I'm going to find someone to be my wife, she has to be strong. Strong enough to be my equal." Sasuke closed his eyes in irritation as Naruto bit his lips holding in his laugh.

Koharu replied back "I respect your decision Uchiha, but time is running. Not everyone will be single forever." With that, the two council members left the office leaving the two in silence.

"So, have any ladies in mind?" Naruto grinned and placed his hand on his chin.

"Shut up." Sasuke growled.

"You really _don't?_" Naruto poked.

"It's none of your business dobe," Sasuke turned and made his way to the door.

"You know… I consider you as my equal. We're pretty much the new Sanin!" Naruto walked over and placed a hand on the shinobi's shoulder.

"Don't even think about it." Sasuke snapped and shrugged him off his shoulder.

"I'm not talking about myself, Teme! I'm talking about…" Naruto got closer and placed a hand between his mouth and Sasuke's ear. He whispered "Sa-ku-ra-chan," The blond watched as Sasuke's form stiffened. He grinned and let out a chuckle.

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged Naruto off and lifted his hand to reach for the door knob.

"Come to think of it…. SHIT! I forgot, we were supposed to-"Naruto was cut off along with Sasuke's movements as they watched the door knob slowly turn on its own.

Sapphire and charcoal eyes widened as the door opened only to reveal pink hair.

"…Sakura?" Sasuke spoke softly.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Naruto.**

Sasuke observed her. Healthy looking pink locks now settled a few inches below her shoulders. It wasn't as long as it was back in their genin days, but it was longer than it was before she left. She wore a red qipao dress that had a zipper that was opened up below her collar bone, causing the dress to fall off her shoulders revealing smooth skin. She was dressed in tight, black, short shorts that were almost unnoticeable, which showed off her toned slender legs and wore open-toed black sandals with high heels that looked similar to her teacher's.

His vision went back onto her face, and to her luscious lips. They were painted pink, almost like her hair. Looking at her lips reminded him of the day she evaded his perimeters and kissed him. He frowned at the thought.

She looks different… Again.

Naruto watched as Sasuke examined her quickly. He fought hard to suppress any laughter from being released. The bastard totally checked her out!

"Good morning Sasuke-kun." Emerald eyes brighten at the sight of her former crush.

"Ah,"

Sasuke was dumbfounded.

The blond noticed the dilemma that his friend was in and decided to let out a fake cough.

"Ahem! What about 'Good morning Hokage-sama!' " Naruto spoke loudly.

"What!?" Sakura looked at the blond who was now wearing a long white coat that looked similar to his father's "Y-You!? Hokage? Since when? H-how… What did I miss?" Sakura nearly fainted at the news. She leaves for three years and the moron becomes Hokage? Tsunade must've been drunk as hell when she appointed him the job.

Sakura turned her vision back the Uchiha that stood right in front of her. He wore a green flak jacket over a greyish shirt which looked almost identical to the one he used to wear before she left. His bottom consisted of the usual dark blue pants with a pouch strapped around his right thigh. His arms were covered with dark blue arm warmers.

Her attention drew back up to his form to the crest that sat on top of his sleeve. The symbol had a four pointed star with the famous Uchiha crest in the center.

"The Konoha Military Police Force…" she said slowly.

Sasuke simply stared.

"Yep! You're looking at the head of the police force! Teme worked his ass off while you were gone." Naruto exclaimed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Get your hands off me dobe," Sasuke snarled.

"Welcome home Sakura-chan! Sorry that we weren't there to greet you. We had a meeting with the old geezers, yenno' Hokage business," Naruto folded his arms in pride. He deserved to be Hokage after everything he had done. Sakura couldn't help but smile at him. She was happy that he was handling serious business for once.

"I'm gonna' help Teme find a woman that will help revive his clan!"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. She spoke to soon.

The Uchiha glared at Naruto and growled "With all due respect _Sixth Hokage_, that information should be classified," he huffed and made his way passed the pink haired shinobi "I'm leaving; I've got things to do."

The pair watched as Sasuke became out of sight.

"Jeez, what's got his panties in a bunch?" he asked scratching the back of his head.

She couldn't help but ponder. Find a woman to help revive his clan? She guessed it did make sense for the elders wanting to populate more Uchiha babies, but she couldn't imagine the antisocial ninja doing anything _lovie dovie_. She began to feel sorry for her teammate. What if he was being forced into marriage?

"Naruto, will you promise me something?" he looked back at her and saw the sincerity on her face.

"Make sure he'll marry a person that he'll be happy with. He suffered too much in his life, I'm sure neither of us would want to see him suffer anymore." She looked down at the thought of a loveless marriage.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto said slowly and placed his fingers under her chin to bring her vision up to him.

"Leave it to me! I'll make sure that the bastard's happy with _her_," He smiled warmly at her before pulling her in for a brotherly embrace.

She returned the gesture by placing her arms around his back. She was more than happy to be home.

"Thank you, Naruto,"

* * *

Silence was interrupted on Team 7's training grounds as a large tree was cut in half and landed on the surface of the Earth.

Thump.

Sasuke Uchiha was pissed.

Returning to the village was no easy task for him. Through the three months of probation, it was obvious that rebuilding bonds with everyone he knew was mandatory in order to _stay_ in the village. It was no easy task, but the new blond Hokage helped him get back on his feet with all the 'bonding sessions' that he attended to, despite how annoying it was.

He placed the chokuto back into its sheath.

After probation, Tsunade had ordered him to go on low rank missions first before ranking up into a higher level of ninja. Once becoming a jonin, he decided to follow under his father's footsteps and lead the police force. He wanted to protect the village as Hokage, but Naruto had already earned the title. Being head of the police force would make him the Hokage's right wing. Close enough.

He gritted his teeth at the thought of the events that took place in the Hokage's office moments earlier.

Sakura had returned after leaving him for three years. She left him just like that, and for what? To train in the middle of nowhere? At least when he left her that night, he left to take revenge on his clan. He had a better reason.

Though, he was supposed to rebuild his bonds and her departure made it impossible to fix the link that they once shared.

How _dare_ she make this task harder for him than it already was? But he was an Uchiha, he could handle anything.

He could handle anything, so why was he so worried about the restoration of his clan? His fists tightened. He thought about all the female ninjas in Konoha he knew and had gained his trust through the dumb _bonding sessions_.

The first kunoichi that appeared in his mind was Sakura. She was his beloved teammate and he had always protected her, constantly sweeping her off feet 'she should be comfortable with me.' But he couldn't possibly ask her, could he?

There was the annoying blonde Ino, but she's already fucking the brains out of the artistic and socially retarded freak.

Then there was Hinata. He wondered what a child would be like, possessing powers of the Sharingan and Byakugan. However, the whole village knew that she was crushing on the Hokage for years. Plus the dobe had already begun to court her. He wasn't planning on fighting to the death for a girl he barely knew.

He then thought of Tenten for a brief moment. Lee was already showing the whole world how much he loved her.

"Dammit," he cursed himself. The elders were right, everyone will be taken! He didn't want a lowlife wife that wasn't strong enough to defend herself. She has to be worthy enough to wear the Uchiha name. She must be on par with him.

His mind drifted back to his dear teammate, Sakura.

She was strong and he thought of her as his equal. She _did_ tell him she loved him before he left, so maybe she still harbors feelings for him.

If she still had feelings for him, then why was she avoiding him the moment he came back to Konoha? She was so desperate to stay away from him that she probably made up some lame excuse like training to leave for three damm years!

Or maybe… She was taunting him. He referred back to Sai blabbering about some book he read on women and their sneaky antics.

"_Women like to partake in a game called 'playing hard to get',"_ _Sai explained a he held up a book, looking at the two ninjas clash for training. _

_"Playing hard to get? So you mean making us hard so we get at them?" Naruto asked, throwing multiple shurikens at the raven haired shinobi._

_"Precisely. They tease us for a bit and then avoid us like they have no interest in us. Being the males we are, we get drawn into this. It's an evil game that women like to play on us men." Sai placed the book down on his lap._

_"Well that's kinda rude! It's like turning on a light switch and leaving the room, you can't just leave us hanging!" Naruto pouted before dodging a couple of kunais._

_"And that is what drives us to chase them," Sai smiled faintly, before Sasuke knocked a punch on the blond sending his face down on the ground._

It all made sense now. That's why she kissed him on the forehead! She deliberately told him to take off his shirt just so she can have an advantage over him. She wanted to play this silly game just so he can reciprocate feelings for her. Such childish actions won't work on this Uchiha.

Sasuke smirked. Why must he be such a genius?

Rebuilding his clan will be a piece of cake with this fighting machine begging for him to take her.

* * *

"B-but… How could you two do this to me!?" Sakura whined as she watched her parents load the truck with the remaining boxes of goods.

"Sakura, you're twenty years old now. It's time for you to spread your wings and fly! We won't be too far away from home; your mother and I are going to move outside the walls in a nice little cottage. You should come visit us some time!" the kind hearted man exclaimed before opening the door to the truck.

"So does that mean, I get the house all to myself?" Sakura clasped her hands together, bright eyes looking into her fathers.

"Well, not quite…"

"What do you mean?"

"You're being kicked out of the nest Sakura. We sold our place to a lovely fellow who really wanted to buy it." The blonde explained as she closed the back of the truck.

"Who would _want_ to buy this small place anyways...?

"The lovely fellow would."

Sakura turned around to the unfamiliar voice that belonged to a man possessing beautiful pools of pine green eyes. He ran his fingers through unkempt crimson hair that was tied in a loose ponytail, and kept his other hand in his pocket. His lean form stood tall in front of his new home and flashed a charming grin at the kunoichi before heading inside. The door shut behind him.

'Well, _hello_ there handsome." Inner Sakura chimed before the door of the truck opened once again.

"Wait! Where am I going to live!?" Sakura placed her hands on her hips.

"Sakura, as your mother it is my duty to make sure that you're successful in life," her mother placed both hands on the pink haired shinobi's shoulders "I want you to find-"

"A nice and wealthy husband so I can be happy for the rest of my life. I get it mom, you tell me this all the time. But where am I going to live RIGHT NOW? Ever thought of that?" Sakura released her embrace.

"Ask the Hokage dear! I'm sure he'll find a nice place for my big cherry blossom!" her mother entered the truck with her father following.

"See ya later Sakura!" he waved at his daughter.

Sakura's brow twitched.

"OH! By the way, I threw out all your clothes when you left! I figured you'd grow out of them. We left some money with the Hokage to take care of it. Make sure to visit him!" The truck's engine roared and drove away, leaving dust to fly in the air.

"No way…"

* * *

The ebony haired ninja walked down the halls of the Hokage's tower ready to declare his plan. He knew that if he took too long to make a decision on who he will take as his bride, the council would arrange his marriage with a random woman.

He needed to tell Naruto about his decision. His goal was to make Sakura bear his children. Sasuke never went back on his goals. She professed her love already, which was more than enough encouragement to ask her for help. If he told the Hokage, then the council wouldn't be on his ass and find a weakling wife.

He opened the door to reveal the blond sleeping on the job. Typical. Sasuke took a kunai and threw it towards the edge of the desk.

Naruto jolted up, with a sheet of paper sticking to his face

"Wake up dobe,"

"Wha? What happened?" the sheet fell off his face, as he rubbed the crust off his eyes.

"I know who I'm going to revive my clan with, but I'm going to need your help." He explained in a nonchalant tone, the news fully waking up the blond.

"Eh!? Who? Who is it!?" Naruto stood of up and slammed his palms on the table.

"Sakura." Sasuke plainly announced as he watched the Hokage stare and burst into laughter.

Sasuke glared at him.

Naruto continued to laugh, "What makes you think she's going to say yes? Do you even know how much heartbreak she endured because of you, Teme?" his laugh died down and stared back at onyx eyes.

His form stiffened. Did it really matter if she endured heartbreak or not? It was obvious she wanted him. She _initiated _the playing hard to get game!

He frowned in response.

"Okay okay, you're serious about Sakura right?" Naruto knew his friend needed help, and was thankful that the bastard actually came to him. He also knew that he didn't want to see Sakura hurt again.

"What do you think? Use your head," Didn't he hear what he told him and the elders earlier?

Naruto then remembered his promise, "W-well, if you were to marry her, will you be happy with your life?" a bead of sweat dropped.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He was annoyed. He didn't come here to get interviewed.

He turned on his heel and made his way to the door.

"Oi Sasuke-teme! Wait!" Naruto called out for him.

Sasuke didn't want to waste his time. All he wanted to do is get the job done and over with. He needed to find Sakura.

History repeated, and the door flung open to reveal the pink haired kunoichi.

Sasuke smirked. Speak of the devil.

Emerald eyes looked up at the smirking ninja. They looked at each other for a moment before she marched up to the Hokage's desk, gripping on his collar and bringing him closer.

"Naruto! You knew my parents were leaving and kicking me out! Why didn't you tell me!? Where am I supposed to live now?" she gritted her teeth.

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks. So Sakura was homeless and needed a place to stay? He smirked and devised a plan. Ninja's always devise plans.

He could offer his place to Sakura, making it easier for him to make his move! People would think they were living together, or maybe even married so that she's bound to wear the Uchiha name. The village would think of her in a bad way if she were to sleep with him without any good reason. Rebuilding the Uchiha clan was _serious business_ – that's a good reason.

But if there's one thing Sasuke wasn't going to do is take advantage of her. He would never force his dear teammate to do something she doesn't want to do. That would be considered as rape. Uchihas never partake in such degrading actions. He also cared for her too much to make her suffer, which was something he only kept to himself.

So if she were to live with him, she would grow onto him and forgive him for what he's done in the past. Yes, after she grows onto him the magic will happen. There would be no way she would reject him. The plan was bullet proof.

Now if only the idiot could catch on to this. He turned around to the two and silently stood there.

"S-Sakura-chan! Relax I got this covered!" Sakura's gripped loosened as her facial expression softened. She let go of the blond who reached for a drawer under his desk pulling out a yellow scroll.

Sakura looked behind her to the Uchiha who was already looking at her. She narrowed his eyes. Why the hell is _he_ here?

Sasuke looked over at the kunoichi's form. He observed how silky her hair appeared and how it flowed gracefully behind her back. His onyx eyes wandered from her exposed shoulders and down to her plumped rear. Her physique looked much curvier than before, indicating that she did in fact keep her body in a more than perfect shape will 'training'.

He watched as her head turned towards him. Emerald eyes sparkled and narrowed back at him.

That was the signal.

She was waiting for him to offer his home.

"So uh, you're going to be living with," Naruto slowly opened the scroll and looked up at the raven haired ninja. He gave him one last smirk before turning his vision down to the scroll.

The two ninjas widened their eyes in suspense.

"Sss…" Blue orbs squinted in an attempt to read his messy penmanship.

'Sasuke Fucking Uchiha' a drop of sweat fell down pale cheeks.

His heart skipped a beat.

…

"Ssscary snake lady!" Naruto exclaimed, with a large smile on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Happy New Year everyone!**

**~ I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Sasuke balled his hands into a fist.

"Why would you make Sakura live with _her?_" he noticed his words came out a little louder than it was supposed to. He glared at the pair of deep blue orbs. What the hell was he thinking?

"Why _not?_" Naruto blinked and frowned back at the raven haired ninja.

"Anko-sensei? What about Ino or Tenten?" Sakura didn't want to complain, but Sasuke was right. She wasn't exactly BFFs with the creepy, dumpling-loving examiner.

"You should have placed her with someone she's comfortable with, she hasn't been home for three years." his tone was icy.

"Ino is living with Sai, and Tenten's rooms are full of weapons. I wouldn't want to place Sakura in a man's house! They might take advantage of her," the blond flashed a smirk at Sasuke before returning his gaze back to emerald orbs. The Uchiha rolled his eyes in response.

He should've asked Sakura himself to live with her. He knew he couldn't count on this dumbass.

"INO!" Sakura gasped "The pig moved fast with Sai, huh?"

"Oho, you wouldn't believe the stories that went around town Sakura-chan! Their moans could be heard all the way from the Hokage's Tower…Right, that reminds me," Naruto reached under his desk once again and pulled up an enormous velvet bag.

Sakura placed her hands on her hips. Exactly how much junk does he keep in there?

"Your mother left me some money to buy you new clothes! Ino helped pick most of them out though," He opened the bag and dug his hand into the pile of garments.

"Check it out!" his hand reached up as he held with two fingers, a thin satin strap that belonged to a shimmering royal blue slip. White lace decorated the bust area and trimmed the edges of the bottom.

Sakura's jaw dropped. She squealed inwardly at the thought of all the other possible goodies that her best friend picked out for her.

The stoic ninja simply frowned at the blond, folding his arms. He couldn't get over the fact that his plan had faltered, not paying any attention to the things that the annoying kunoichi got her. He needed to revise his plot.

"Pretty right? Wait till' you see this," his hand reached inside the bag once more, drawing out a pair of fluffy orange socks, "Sakura –chan look! I got these ones specially made just for you" he grinned boldly at her before turning the socks to its sides.

"It says 'Hokage-sama rocks my socks'!" Sakura leaned over only to recognize black text with a mini cartoon of the blond idiot in front of her. Her eye jerked at the sight.

"Wait! There are a bunch of other cool things here, lemme' pull out my favorite." He lowered his head down in the bag and dug deeper until he popped up with a grin on his face.

His hand slowly lifted up revealing a flirtatious pink mesh thong decorated with black lace and hot pink ribbons, "cute, right?"

Sasuke's inner thoughts of a diabolical plan broke at the realization of the piece of garment in his hands. The idiot was holding lingerie that was going to be worn by no other than the pink haired shinobi beside him. She's going to wear _that!?_ It's pretty much see-through, what good can that do for anyone? A slight blush was plastered on his face. He felt ashamed at his thought.

The kunoichi's face turned red as a tomato 'No way, not in front of Sasuke-kun!' She looked to her left where the male stood, staring at the piece of underwear. Her vision turned back to Naruto, giving him a deathly glare.

"S-Sakura-chan, you don't like it? I think it's pretty sexy, what d-do you think Sasuke-teme?" he looked into obsidian with fear in his eyes.

The Uchiha clenched his jaw and took one last look before turning his head away to the side.

"Hn."

He smirked inwardly.

Sakura panicked in embarrassment. What else would the pink haired ninja do at a time like this?

"**SHANNARROO!**"

* * *

The sun began to set as Sakura Haruno walked down the narrow halls of the small apartment, in hopes to find the room number. She dragged her feet tiredly and adjusted her grip on the large bag that Naruto had given her.

"503… 504… Ah! Here it is, 505." She looked up and took a deep breath. The kunoichi didn't know what to expect, so she prepared for the worse. She exhaled and preformed three knocks on the door.

However no one was there to answer.

She knocked three times again, putting more force than she did before but she still stood there waiting for a response. 'Maybe she's not home…' Sakura pondered before reaching for the door knob and turning it slowly 'just my luck, it's unlocked.' Her lips curved up into a smile.

She opened the door slowly before contemplating whether to peek in or not, "Uhm… Anko-sensei? Are you home?" the door gradually widened until the kunochi's eyes fell upon the purple haired ninja.

Dancing in her living room.

Headphones on at max volume.

Wearing nothing but a mesh shirt and black panties.

If she thought her day back at Konoha was weird, things had just started to become _very_ interesting. "Anko-sensei?" She waved her hands in the air in hopes to catch the woman's attention.

"Oh! Sakura I didn't notice you come in," the older kunoichi removed her headphones and smiled largely at Sakura before moving her hazel eyes over to the large bag, "Welcome to Anko's lovely home! I'm assuming that thing you're holding is a house warming gift for me, right?"

"Uh, sorry Anko-sensei but these are all the clothes that I have now," she gave the snake user an apologetic smile.

"Awww, it's just so big that it got me all excited," She winked at emerald eyes before walking behind the blushing pink haired ninja, closing the door. "And by the way, just call me Anko! We're roomies now remember?"

Sakura removed her sandals and walked in deeper into the apartment unit. The living room looked small yet cozy consisting of a red couch, matching loveseat, coffee table and a television. The open kitchen was placed on the left corner of the living room with a small hallway placed right beside it.

Anko motioned her hands gesturing Sakura to follow as they walked from the doorway turning left towards the hallway. The medical-nin couldn't help but notice the abstract painting that was hung in the hall. She narrowed her eyes noticing the purple haired ninja's signature on the bottom right. She would have never taken the serpent handler as an artist.

"The bathroom is to your left, and your room is here to your right," she opened the door to reveal a small bedroom comprising of a twin-size bed, vanity table and a dresser.

"Thank you so much Anko-sens- I mean… Anko. Are there any rules that I should be following since this is your house?" Sakura smiled tiredly at the woman, watching as she leaned against the doorway with arms folded above her chest.

"It's the least I can do Sakura, you helped fix me up after I was captured by Kabuto," she smiled at the younger woman and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Hmmm rules; I never really thought about any guidelines that I follow here, but since you asked… _Always_ leave the door unlocked, bring me dango time to time and don't be afraid to walk around naked."

Sakura's smile twitched. Such odd rules for such an odd lady.

"Also, if you decide to bang on a guy in this house, make sure you're protected – I don't want little pink haired punks running around the house. You can find the condoms in the bathroom." She smiled cheekily at the now stiffened Sakura.

"Eh? I won't be doing such a thing!" and she was right because she had her handy dandy device in her backpack.

"Oh come on Sakura-chan! You're smokin' hot now." She walked over to her and poked at the two perfectly rounded breasts.

"S-sensei!" she gasped

"Relax! You're in my house now, so embrace the estrogen." Sakura simply sighed as the purple haired kunoichi chuckled.

She needed some sleep.

* * *

Later that night, Sasuke Uchiha awakened suddenly from his sweet slumber only to find himself sitting on his chair with his face planted on all his paperwork.

His disheveled hair was partially soaked in sweat as he clenched his teeth in frustration. He lifted up his head and wiped the tears away from his cheek as he felt a familiar feeling clench on his heart.

'Not those dreams again…'

He looked down on his desk where scattered documents lay and set it all neatly in a pile. He got off work early that day leaving him to finish his paperwork at home. Sasuke frowned when he recalled an earlier event that took place at the Hokage's office. At least he wasn't sleeping _at_ the job.

He got up from his desk and walked down the halls of the refurbished Uchiha home, until he entered the bathroom. The raven haired ninja twisted the knob of the shower before hanging his vest and began to strip his robes off. He shuddered at the cool air that lightly brushed on his exposed skin and entered the shower. Onyx eyes sealed shut as he began his duties and ran a soapy cloth along his chiseled body.

For Sasuke, shower time was more than a period to simply wash away dirt and sweat. It was a time to reflect on his life; a time for concentration and meditation.

His mind couldn't help but wonder about the dream he had awoken to. Ever since his life flashed before him at the end of the war, he began to see the same images occasionally in his sleep. He recognized those images as memories of his past; memories of his early childhood all the way till the beginning of the war.

However, there was one 'memory' in his dreams that Sasuke couldn't remember nor comprehend. This memory would haunt his dreams like a broken record.

All he saw in this particular dream were ocean waves and flashing lights. He furrowed his brows as he reflected on the memory, desperately putting the pieces together attempting to find this lost memory. He thought hard about it and concluded that the water appeared darker than it would during the day, assuming that this event took place at night.

'That would mean that the flashing lights in the sky were… Fireworks. I don't recall watching fireworks by the water.'

He suddenly felt the tightening feeling in his chest that he felt earlier when he woke up.

'Go away.' He cursed to himself as he squeezed on the washcloth.

After finishing up in the shower, he walked over to his room and removed the towel that clung around his waist. The Uchiha dressed into boxers, followed by shorts, and a sleeveless dark blue shirt. He moved himself under a soft purple comforter and shut his eyes attempting to sleep.

But his clouded mind would not let him.

The familiar yet tender feeling continued to bother his core as he thought about the beautiful night sky in his dream, decorated with colorful fireworks. The more he thought about the scene, the more his heart would ache. And the more he allowed himself to feel the sadness that was emitting from his chest, the more he began to think about Sakura.

He associated the familiar but throbbing feeling in his chest to the night he left the village.

_… "I'm different from you all… I can't be following the same path as you guys," He continued to talk as he faced away from her, "Up until now, we've done everything as a group. But there is something else… I must do," the sound of her sniffling echoed in the night. He was thankful that he had his back towards her because he hated the sight of her crying._

_He went on, "Deep inside my heart, I've already decided on revenge… For that reason only, do I live…" he frowned and balled his fists in his pockets, "I'll never be like you or Naruto." 'So please leave me be' Silence filled the air once again. _

_She spoke up with shakiness in her voice, "Do you really want to go back to being alone? You told me how painful it has to be alone! Right now, I know your pain… I may have family and friends… But if you were to leave me," she paused for a moment._

_"To me… To me, I would be just as lonely as you…" She continued to cry._

_Just then, a foreign feeling was bestowed on the Uchiha's heart. His chest ached as he listened to her sincere words, making it harder for him to leave. Her sincerity was something that he always admired from her. But he already made his decision. There was nothing she could do now to change his mind. _

_"From here on out… We all begin new paths…" he thought to himself, 'So become stronger until the day I return, because I know our paths will cr-'_

_Her voice broke him away from his inner thoughts, "I… I love you with all my heart!" _

_His heart skipped a beat._

_His chest began to throb, as he heard the words that no one has ever once spoken to him in his life. Her words were true. _

_She continued on, "If you were to stay with me, there would be no regrets! Because, every day we'd do something fun, we'd be happy I swear!" her tone settled down as she spoke with short breaths "I would do anything for you! So please, just stay with me…" _

_'Sakura…' Sasuke was speechless at her confession. He loosened his hands from their grip. He allowed her to continue in respect of her own feelings._

_"I'll even help you with your revenge… I don't know what I could do, but I'll try my best to do something," her sobs could be heard in between her words, "So please, stay with me… Or take me with you if can't stay here" he listened as she continued cry._

_He smiled inwardly at her confession. She actually offered to help him with his revenge. Is that what love makes people do?_

_The feeling in his heart never left no matter how many times he tried to brush it off. She was making it so damm hard for him to leave. _

_But the nervous and ecstatic feeling she gave him though her words, made him feel…Happy._

_He turned around and smirked, "You really are annoying," he caught a glimpse of her swollen and teary eyes before turning around to walk away. He couldn't bear to see her like that. The warm feeling in his chest turned into sorrow at the realization that she was like that because of him. And after all she said to him, all he could do was walk away. He had to leave; it was the path he chose. _

_"Don't leave!" she shouted out to him, "If you do I'll scream!"_

_Within an instant, he flashed behind her. _

_"Sakura…" he spoke softly, "Thank you." He knocked her out and caught Sakura before she fell onto the ground. He allowed her to collapse onto his arms and picked her up gently, placing her now sleeping form on a nearby stone bench._

_He recognized the bench and recalled the memory that took place outside the Academy where he called her annoying. _

_He observed as the moonlight illuminated delicate features on her soaked face. Without thinking, he brought out his hand and wiped the tears with his thumb that had fallen off her smooth skin. Sadness overfilled his heart as light fingers brushed away pink locks revealing her peaceful looking face. _

_He thought about what his mother used to do when he cried for a long time. Mimicking her, he leaned down and lightly placed a soft kiss on her forehead. _

_"Don't cry anymore," he whispered to her sleeping form before disappearing in the night._

Sasuke clenched onto his sheets as he thought about the memory. Even till this day, he received that annoying feeling in his chest whenever he would think about that night or wake up from his mysterious dream.

He turned over to rest on his side. A strong hand was slipped under the pillow which his head was on as the other hand laid close to his chest. Ebony bangs covered his forehead in an untidy manner.

That feeling in his heart made him feel nervousness, uneasiness, sadness, assurance, and joy.

Whenever he felt this way, the loneliness that had always been present in his heart would disappear.

That night, Sasuke concluded that only Sakura, could fill his lonely existence. 

* * *

Author's Note: Hello everyone! I hope you all are enjoying the story :

The story is still in it's beginning phase! We still need to meet the daimyo's son. Yes, this will be one with many chapters. Since this is my first fanfic, I'm open to any suggestions you all have to offer :D. Forgive me for my errors, I usually don't notice them when I review until I read is once more when it's actually posted. Whoopsie daisies!


	5. Chapter 5

**_I do not own Naruto!_**

"Sponge."

"H-Hai!" the young brunette nurse wiped off the sweat that sat on the kunoichi's face.

"Not on me…"

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" she grabbed a new surgical sponge and absorbed the bloody fluids.

"Scalpel."

"Coming right up!" she took the bladed instrument from fragile hands.

"Valerian."

"U-uhm… About that," the young nurse spoke slowly.

"Valerian." She repeated herself once more.

"S-sorry but-"

"Where the HELL are my valerian herbs, Hanako!?" Sakura fumed as she glared up furiously at chestnut spheres across from her, hands glowing inside an open stomach.

"We suddenly w-went out of stock Sakura-sama," she looked down in submission. The head medical ninja sighed before releasing her Strength of a Hundred Seals, causing purple markings to spread all over her body.

"You all are useless without me here." Emerald eyes gazed up at the brunette across from her before her lips curved into an earnest smile. The young nurse smiled back in response.

"H-hai Sakura-sama! We're useless without you!" she bowed her head quickly as she surveyed the kunoichi heal the man with an open wound at rapid speeds. She watched in awe as she mentally noted how the female ninja effortlessly used her healing jutsu, praising inwardly on how much stronger she had become since her concluded the surgery followed by concentrating all her chakra back into a rhombus seal and stormed out of the operating room, while the rest of surgery team closed up the body. The young nurse followed the pink haired kunoichi into a garden of medical herbs.

"So, how long have we been out of stock?" Sakura asked, as she double checked the empty patch of dirt.

"Since yesterday, Sakura-sama," Hanako answered, twirling her fingers.

The medical-nin scratched the back of her head before releasing a great sigh. A few days had passed since she returned to the village, causing her stress levels to increase more than anyone could imagine.

She was already having trouble sleeping at Anko's place, with all the snakes lurking all around the house or occasional visits from Genma, Kotetsu, and Izumo. Sakura winced when she recalled the sound of moans that echoed from the other room last night.

She was also having trouble ingesting the idea that Naruto was now Hokage and Sasuke had inherited the police force. A slight blush tinted across her face when she thought of the raven haired ninja in his uniform. You can't deny a sexy man when you see one.

He seemed to suddenly possess an innocent look that he used to have back when they were in their genin days and before he was tainted with darkness. It was almost as if he never left and simply grew older.

She thought for a moment before she concluded that he must have gone through some kind of therapy to ensure he wasn't planning on betraying the village again. Her heart dropped for a second as she thought of Sasuke leaving. She shook it off quickly as Inner Sakura piped in, 'Stop feeling so bummed about the past!'

Another sigh escaped from painted lips. The only way she could keep her mind off of all the changes that occurred in her life was to work at the hospital, which had managed to keep her sanity. For now.

She cursed the person who was responsible for the shortage of anesthetic herbs.

* * *

"I still don't understand why you always seem to drag me out of the police station. Unlike you, I actually _work_, dobe." Sasuke sat on the edge of the Hokage's desk, back faced to Naruto, with elbows resting on his knees as he hunched over reviewing reports. Two ANBU members had popped into his office that morning claiming that the Hokage needed to speak with him for 'important' matters.

"Hinata-chan is on a mission teme! You know how lonely I get when my personal assistant isn't here." Naruto leaned back on his chair pouting, with arms resting on the back of his head. The raven haired shinobi rolled his eyes.

"Hn. Find another dam assistant then. I'm not doing any of your work," Sasuke growled.

"Relax!" he chuckled before leaning forward, "Didn't you say you needed my help the other day? For yenno', restoring your clan with…" He got up from his chair and leaned close to the Uchiha's ear as he whispered "Sa-ku-ra-chan."

Sasuke shuddered. Naruto simply chuckled. He would never get used to that.

"Shut up," he hissed before laying a punch on the back of the blond's head.

"Ow! Oi, teme that hurts!" Naruto whined as he rubbed on the throbbing pain pulsing on his head. He looked up at Sasuke and frowned. This is the thanks he gets for offering help? The bastard was never grateful.

"Hn." Onyx eyes met blue as he smirked. The Hokage leaned back on his chair with folded arms across his chest. He needed answers.

"Why Sakura-chan though?" he prodded, eyeing the male in front of him in suspicion.

Sasuke's form stiffened. His mind clouded. He swallowed hard, wearing a dry expression before processing his question. Why did he choose Sakura again? With his back faced to Naruto, he began to speak in a nonchalant tone.

"She's strong."

"Uh-huh,"

"She's brave."

"Yeah…"

"She's the head of Konoha Hospital."

"Mhmm, good reputation"

"We were once on the same team."

"You're comfortable with her, I see, go on,"

...

Naruto observed Sasuke's form, his gaze lingered for a few moments as silence was casted in the room. His mind clicked.

"EH!? That's ALL you have to say for choosing her!? There's no way I'm going to let you restore your clan with Sakura-chan, teme!"

"Hn."

"Yo! What's this I hear about restoring a clan and Sakura-chan?" Kakashi chimed in, perched on the window sill with a naughty book in his hand. Naruto nearly fell off his seat, startled to see how his teacher had sneaked up on them. On the other hand, Sasuke continued to gaze at the wall across from him remaining completely unfazed. He felt the copy ninja's presence earlier, which is why he left out _other _reasons for choosing Sakura.

Reasons that he threw away to pursuit his lonely path for revenge.

Naruto's voice jerked him farther from his thoughts "Kakashi-sensei! You gotta' stop sneaking up on the Hokage like that," he placed a hand over his chest as he exhaled.

Kakashi ignored his comment and watched the Uchiha with his good eye. He wore a serious expression before speaking up, "Well, what's this I hear about you restoring your clan with Sakura?"

Sasuke glared at the copy ninja, "It's none of your concern."

Kakashi spat back, "It certainly is my concern when it involves my beloved students."

The Uchiha shifted his gaze away from him, "_Former_ beloved students. It has nothing to do with you now."

The silver haired shinobi replied coolly, "Naruto is your former peer, isn't he?" Kakashi scratched the back of his head before curving his eyes upwards indicating a smile behind the mask, "I'm sorry, I guess it's none of my business but I just don't want to see Sakura-chan hurt again. I hope you know what you're doing."

'Again?' Sasuke thought to himself. He assumed he had hurt her when he left, but he barely knew the Sakura now ever since he was back in the village, so how could she have been hurt? They never even shared a proper conversation since she left after he was released from probation.

The blond simply watched the two interact, blue orbs going back and forth as if he was watching a game of tennis.

"Hn." Toned arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Have you even _thought_ about how you're going to approach her about it?" Kakashi pressed on.

"…"

Sasuke's eyes shifted. He never really gave it any thought on how he was supposed to ask her. It was obvious that she had feelings for him with whatever game she was trying to play, so he thought it wouldn't cause harm asking. He also knew that he was growing more and more irritated by his former teacher's lecturing.

The silver haired jonin spoke up once more, "You know, you can't just ask her bluntly 'restore my clan with me', she's going to reject you and think you only need her for _that _causing her to be hurt once again_."_ Obsidian eyes narrowed. He knew Kakashi had a point and surely did not want to see Sakura hurt again. Plus he didn't want to be rejected. Uchiha's never get rejected, at least from women that is.

"Kakashi-sensei is right. A man cannot simply perform procreation with a woman like Sakura without displaying love and affection to her. And of course _pleasing_ her." Two pairs of eyes and a half glanced over to Sai who stood in the shadows.

Sasuke snarled as his eyes shot daggers to the pale ninja, "Why the hell are you here? You're supposed to be watching my shift."

"As one of the leaders of ANBU, I know everything that goes on in the village. I also know for a fact that three of my teammates are having a bro-moment. I would also like to participate in such intimate bonding time to help enhance our companionship," he walked closer to the three before continuing, "Plus I told pineapple head to look after the office."

Sasuke placed one hand flat on his face in annoyance, as Naruto and Kakashi fought hard to suppress any comments. All of them knew that the Uchiha was going to face a very _troublesome_ Shikamaru when he returns back to the police station.

"You're an idiot." Sasuke growled.

The seemingly emotionless Sai smiled at the raven haired ninja, "And for choosing Ugly as your breeding capsule, back at you traitor."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Sai as he got off the desk and tightened his fists. What would _he_ know about any of this? He knew Sakura long before the freak did, so what right did he have to say about all this? Before the situation could escalate, the copy ninja spoke up.

"Well, Sai has a point. You can't just ask her to bear your children Sasuke. I'm sure you know what Sakura is capable of doing with her fists," He paused before he continued, "Listen, you're a _shinobi_. You do things with precision, timing, and _stealth_." Kakashi closed his book and crossed his legs as Sasuke looked back at him with slight interest. All anger and frustration began to drain away.

"Think of this as a mission. You need to woo her first to increase your chances of success. Start off with the basics, take her out on a couple of dates, tell her she's beautiful when you look into her eyes, hold her hand when you feel like the time is right. I'm sure Sakura would like that." Kakashi explained as he placed his fingers on his chin, "You need to prove that you're serious about her, or else she will think that you're just using her."

Sai pressed on, "I read that when a male is serious about a woman, he would go above and beyond her expectations with romantic gestures. Sasuke, do you even _like_ Ugly? Does she make your cock hard every time you examine her most sacred areas? That is… If you have a penis." Kakashi and Naruto practically fell at his question as Sasuke furrowed his brows in aggravation.

"What Sai is trying to say is that you need to question yourself, is she the only one that you'll ever consider for the rest of your life?" Kakashi asked. Silence casted in the room once again.

Sasuke knew that Sakura had changed significantly over the years. She wasn't the same needy and weak little girl that chased him everywhere he went. She didn't even bother seeing him with the rest of Team 7 while he was in probation. Not that he cared.

He saw what she was capable of doing at the last war. She demonstrated how advanced her chakra control had become, being one of the few shinobis to even have chakra when Madara was alive causing havoc. Her skills in chakra control had even surpassed his own. On top of her monstrous strength, he took note of her proficient medical healing capabilities that were nowhere close to what he had witnessed from Kabuto.

There was no doubt in his mind that Sakura now stood strong as an independent and powerful kunoichi, who probably only considered him as nothing more than a teammate. Indeed, Sakura didn't need his protection anymore. But that didn't mean he would stop

Building bonds with this compassionate firecracker became inevitable at this point.

This new Sakura was going to be one of the biggest challenges that he would ever have to conquer in his life. However, only she was worthy enough to stand by his side. Let alone, the only one available for him.

Sasuke was going to accomplish his second ambition in life, to restore the Uchiha clan. And he was going to get it done.

The ten seconds that passed by, began to feel like ten minutes.

"…What do you think? There's nobody else." Sasuke replied in an irritated voice. Kakashi recognized the tone in his expression, and concluded that he would discontinue questioning the Uchiha before he stormed out of the room in annoyance.

Naruto sat there with folded arms as he glanced over at Sai, giving him the look that read 'Well, this is awkward.' The ninja simply nodded in response as if he knew that look.

The blonde finally chirped up, "Well! You heard the man, you gotta' woo her first teme! And that's why I called you here in my office, so I can _help_ you with that." The Uchiha turned to Naruto who wore a devious grin coated on his face. Sasuke supposed the advice that Sai and Kakashi gave sounded stupid and childish. But it wasn't impractical. What would Naruto have to offer?

Blue orbs shined as he reached under his desk and pulled out a bag of unknown herbs.

All three ninjas widened their eyes at the sight in front of them.

Sai questioned the contents in the bag, Sasuke remained stoic waiting for an explanation and Kakashi was completely mortified.

"N-Naruto, you're not doing what I think you're doing… Are you?" The copy shinobi stuttered. Had he failed to teach his students to live a modest and _clean_ life?

"I believe that would explain why our herb-smoking Hokage has remained quiet until now," Sai commented as he pointed his finger up.

"W-what!? Y-you got it all wrong! I would never do such a thing!" Naruto pleaded as his sweat dropped, "I stole these pain killing herbs from the hospital so that Sakura-chan would need more!"

Kakashi sighed in relief as Sai tilted his head in wonder.

Sasuke grinned at the Hokage before him. He would have hated to admit, but Naruto had always been helpful to him in many odd yet effective ways.

"What does that have to do with me?" Sasuke placed his hands in his pockets as he switched to a nonchalant aura.

Naruto beamed up at the Uchiha as he leaped to his feet. "Heh, listen up! Dattebayo!"

* * *

The late afternoon sky began to fall as Sakura lethargically dragged her feet down the busy streets of Konoha. Her long overtime shift at the hospital had just ended, leaving a very tired and cranky kunoichi to walk alone to her apartment.

Emerald orbs caught a glimpse of a rather irritated Shikamaru, who walked by oblivious to her presence. Sakura watched as he strolled with a slouch and wore a grim expression on his face.

As he walked passed her, she could've sworn she herd him mutter,

"…I hate them all."

Woman problems, she figured.

She sighed as she reached into her bag and pulled out a medical scroll. She might as well make her trip to home useful. Who else is going to oversee all these documents?

Sakura continued to walk down the streets, dodging the crowd of citizens, as she read reports from the hospital, "Hm… I could just give her medication but that would cause some pretty bad side effects." She whispered quietly to herself.

Before the kunichi had time to react, Sakura came face to face with her scroll as she bumped into someone's chest.

"Ah! I'm so so-!" she gazed up to a set of stoic obsidian eyes that belonged to no other, than Sasuke Uchiha.

Firm hands held onto her shoulders to prevent her from falling backwards and supported her balance. He was lucky that he caught a glimpse of the person he was looking for, and decided to stop the pink haired kunoichi in her tracks.

"Sakura." He watched as she juggled the contents in her hands.

"Sasuke," she spoke softly as she mentally cursed herself for dropping the scroll that she just read. Why must she be a klutz at the worst times? It definitely gave the wrong impression. She assumed he viewed her as the same, old, and annoying girl who was still head over heels for him. Anger boiled in her veins as she snapped.

"I can stand by myself, thank you very much!" Sakura huffed, staring up at his disapproving face.

"Hn. Clearly."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he freed his grip on her shoulders. He had ONE job, and that was to pick her up from the hospital and bring her to the Hokage's office. He frowned.

He should've known the collision would waste time.

Sakura released a groan before she bent down to reach for the fallen document. The top of her red qipao dress slid further down her shoulders in the process. Slender finger tips gripped on the scroll as she stood straight rather abruptly, only to find him staring at her with an intensifying glare. She frowned back at him.

"What is it?"

Unreadable onyx eyes blinked. He stared at her with a burning gaze that she'd never seen before. But then again, this was Sasuke. He was pretty much 'Mr. Unpredictable'.

His expression returned to a scowl and turned to face his back to her, "Naruto wants to see us at the tower. He said he has a mission for us."

"A mission? Is it urgent?" she pondered.

"No. Let's just get going so he can explain the details." He stated in dangerous tone already walking to the direction of their destination.

Sakura furrowed her brows strangely at him. '_Impatient as always'_ she thought to herself as she dragged her feet tiredly, catching up with the Uchiha. Her mind began to wonder.

If they had a mission to do, why was he heading the opposite way earlier? Didn't he know where the Hokage's tower was?

Generally, this is when young Sakura would cling onto his arm, praising and fawning all over him. Now when she thought about it, she must have been pretty annoying to him back then as he would have shooed her off. She mentally took note to keep a decent amount of distance between them as they walked.

His dark voice brought her back to reality.

"You should be looking at where you're going." he scolded.

She glared and offered him a frown as she caught up to his pace. "Well, it's not like your average person decides to _purposely_ walk in front of you."

The Uchiha shifted his gaze to the pair of emerald eyes beside him, "I _did not _purposely walk in front of you." His eyes moved back to the street ahead before continuing, "You were just simply in my way."

Her stare dawdled on him for a while, before she pouted and glanced away.

"You were the one who was in my way." She mumbled in a mocking tone and took a peek at the tall man beside her. Sakura found that he was already looking at her, with an intense scrutiny.

She gawked back at him and scowled, as they both exchanged death-glares.

"Hn."

"Hmph!"

"Hn!"

Onyx orbs narrowed at her before Sakura broke their gaze. Her jaw dropped as she stopped dead in her tracks.

The Uchiha flinched at her sudden action, and decided to follow her line of vision only to find that sparkling jade eyes were staring at an ice cream store. The small ice cream booth sat between two other stores, in the bustling streets of the Konoha market area.

Sasuke glanced at the store then eyed back at her suspiciously. He folded his arms in annoyance.

"We are _not_ stopping for sweets."

"Oh come on Sasuke! I'm dying for some sugar here."

"Forget it." He growled.

Sakura fiercely glared at him. She had an exhausted day at work for crying out loud, and ice cream had always been the perfect treat after a long day. Something the Uchiha would never understand, since he never liked sweets. How could he not like sweets? They just felt… _So right _inside_._

She continued to stare at him as she placed her hands on her hips and leaned on one side of her body. Oh yes, she was going to get her ice cream and she was going to do it with sass.

"Why not?" she tilted her head to the side in curiosity.

"Because I said so."

Sakura smirked. "Not good enough Uchiha." She turned on her heel, swaying her hips like 'sassy people do' and made her way to the ice cream shop, dodging passing pedestrians in the process.

Her smile widened in triumph upon hearing the footsteps of the shinobi behind her. Sakura 1 – Sasuke 0.

The pink haired kunoichi stopped in front of the ordering window as she gave a bright smile to the familiar store clerk.

"Good evening! I'll have the usual, two scoops of red bean ice cream please." she lifted her delicate fingers to gesture the number two and spoke with a polite tone.

"Good evening Sakura-san! It's been a while hasn't it? I must say, you've grown up to look absolutely stunning! Not that you weren't beautiful before." The older woman returned a smile.

"T-Thank you Mika-san, it surely has been a while." She blushed at the compliment as the older lady looked behind her to the stoic Uchiha.

"Would your friend like anything?" the store clerk asked.

Sakura turned around to meet obsidian eyes. She smirked at him before speaking up, "Sasuke, do you want some ice cream?" She felt like a mother sucking up to her grumpy son as emerald orbs stared at him waiting for his response. _'And the grunt will come in three, two, one..,"_

"Hn."

She spun around quickly and beamed at the store clerk, "He said no thank you!" The old woman chuckled and began to scoop up the chilly dessert.

Sakura placed a few pink locks behind her right ear, and dug into her silky coin pouch to pay for her delicious craving. The woman looked back up and gave the ice cream on a cone to the kunoichi in front of her, receiving coins at the same time. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the diamond and ruby Uchiha crest that dangled off a long chain.

"Oh my Sakura-san! I had no idea."

"Eh?" her head snapped up.

"Congratulations! I guess I must refer to you as Uchiha-san now." the woman in front of her giggled as she winked at the pink haired kunoichi. Sasuke simply furrowed his brows.

Her mind clicked and laughed uncomfortably. "A-ah, it's not like that-"

Sakura was cut off when a strong hand gripped on her thin wrist, pulling her to leave.

"Come on. We don't have time." He stated impatiently as he held onto her wrist dragging her on the way. Sakura looked back at the store clerk to wave good bye, and turned to frown at the Uchiha, desperately trying to keep up with his pull.

"You said it wasn't urgent, there's no rush." She growled. He completely ignored her and continued to drag her down the street.

"Sasuke-kun!" she used the prefix this time and as she expected, Sakura received a response. He continued to hold on to her with a stern grip.

"You were wasting time. I can see that you're exhausted Sakura. So let's just head to Naruto so we can receive the mission and you can finally go home to rest." He stated coolly.

Jade eyes widened in shock. Was she hearing this right? This was _Sasuke, _the cold-hearted bastard who left her and even tried to kill her without displaying any signs of mercy.

But then again, she did recall a certain time in their life where he did seem to care about their safety. Even during the war he fought along as a team and protected her just as he did years before. Maybe Ibiki tortured him enough to knock some sense into him. She smiled softly as she concluded that maybe, Sasuke had been purified from his hateful curse. Maybe, he did let go of the pain that was haunting him for years. And maybe she should do the same.

It was time to face her fears. Well in this case, fears faced her.

Their pace slowed down. Sakura took the opportunity to part her lips and lick the creamy goodness. The sensation that swirled in her mouth gave the kunoichi a chilling satisfaction. She couldn't help but moan softly.

"Mmm…" Sakura purred. Her moment of pleasure was rudely interrupted as she felt the sturdy grip on her wrist tightened. Porcelain cheeks blushed as she realized that he was still holding on to her.

"U-uhm Sasuke, you can let go of me now." She spoke quietly.

"Tch." The raven haired ninja released his gripped and drew his hand back to his side. He heard her chuckle and glanced over his shoulder only to find her _enjoying_ her sweet dessert.

Sakura raised the cone and tilted her head to lick off the melted ice cream that soaked the hard shell. She cursed herself for allowing the dessert to be neglected. She continued to lick off the left over cream on her fingers until emerald eyes met onyx. He stared at her with a burning force that she did not recognize.

Was he watching her pig out? _Awesome_, now she was annoying _and_ a slob.

Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and dropped her attention to his mouth. She watched as he bit his bottom lip and swallowed. Of course! How could she be so selfish? She ran up to stand in front of him and stopped Sasuke from walking any further.

"Look, I know I told Mika-san that you didn't want anything, but I assumed 'hn' meant no. Well, considering the situation it could mean anything. I thought I knew you long enough to know when that grunt of yours meant yes or no-" her chattering was cut short as his chiseled body crashed into hers.

"What the hell!?" he snarled as he looked behind at the little boy who tripped and grabbed onto the clothes of the furious Uchiha.

"S-sorry mister!" the little boy pleaded, looking up at intimidating eyes.

With an angry growl, he flared his Sharingan at the boy who peered up at him in fear, "Watch where you're going. Or else." He hissed.

"Y-y-yes sir!" the boy finally ran away for his life. Sasuke glanced back and flinched when he realized that the messy dessert had collided all over his flak jacket as well as her form. His crimson eyes looked below watching a trail of ice cream run down through the center of her chest.

They both froze in shock, oblivious to the small space that was left between them.

"Sasuke!" she cried furiously. "You didn't have to scare the poor boy away." Sakura was more upset that the child looked pretty much scarred for life than the sticky situation they were both in. Jade eyes shot up at him, but recoiled when she realized how close he was. His mouth fell slightly open, as she felt his warm breath tickle on her skin. His disposition appeared as if he had just finished running a lap around the whole village; flushed and pant-like.

His crimson eyes transformed back to onyx and scowled at her.

"Clean it up." Sasuke demanded.

Sakura spat back, "_Excuse me?"_

"Don't make me repeat myself. This is your fault." He spoke in an irritated manner.

'_What's with him today? He seems more pissed off than usual.'_ She thought to herself. Instead of retorting back she huffed and stomped to the nearest dango stand where she grabbed a handful of napkins. Sakura had no more energy to put up a fight with him.

She walked back to the irritated looking Uchiha and stood in front of him. Her mind contemplated whether to clean up his mess first or allow the ice cream to fall down uncomfortably down her shirt.

However, her caring nature dominated as she lifted up her hand slowly and brought it up to his chest. Avoiding his glare, she began to wipe off the sticky contents on his jacket. It wasn't her fault that the boy bumped into him… Well maybe they wouldn't have collided with her ice cream if she hadn't decided to stand right in front of him. Needless to say, it wouldn't have happened if she bought the red bean dessert in the first place.

The old Sakura would've sulk about this event for years, as Sasuke appeared annoyed as hell. But she could give a damm. She _needed _something sweet to soothe her nerves.

She rubbed on the stain harder in attempts to clean it up thoroughly. The pressure caused the Uchiha to step back a bit.

"Sorry about this…" The medical-nin spoke softly as she hesitated to look up. Once again, Sakura found that onyx orbs were already staring at her with an unknown expression.

_Th-thump_

'_Oh gosh, not now Sakura!'_ she returned the gaze and smiled uncomfortably. She began to think of the situation on hand as awkward, in efforts to suppress her unwanted feelings. Sakura shuffled through the napkins and wiped off clean the dessert that sat nicely on her skin.

She offered an awkward chuckle before looking back at him, "All clean! What about me?"

Sasuke simply stared at her with what Sai would call, _'the constipated face'._

"Aa." He stated in a nonchalant way. Before she turned around, emerald eyes noticed a spot of ice cream near the bottom corner of his mouth. Her cleaning instincts kicked in as she wiped off the dessert with the pad of her thump and brought it to her mouth, engulfing the digit.

She couldn't help herself. She barely had enough to eat, so might as well make use of the cream that stuck on her finger to fulfill her cravings. Sakura hummed in satisfaction as she savored the red bean flavor as long as possible in her mouth.

Sasuke silently brushed passed her, speeding up his pace towards the Hokage's tower. She folded her arms and spoke loudly, "You're welcome!"

The stoic ninja disregarded her as he placed his hands in his pockets.

Just when she was about to scowl he muttered, "Come on, let's go."

She smiled sweetly before catching up to the man that she once loved. Sakura playfully punched on the side of his upper arm.

"Jerk."

* * *

"It took you two long enough!" Naruto exclaimed as he stood up from his desk. Sai stood facing Naruto and blankly looked behind.

Sakura took a quick glance at Sasuke and back at Naruto, "Sorry, we got side tracked."

"Side tracked, huh?" the blond raised his brows and offered the pair a teasing grin.

"Dobe, just assign us the mission already." Sasuke demanded. The Hokage simply scoffed at his lousy greeting. He reached for three scrolls and tossed it to Team 7.

"You don't need to read all the mumbo jumbo. Just head for the Land of Tea, grab the valerian herbs that Sakura-chan needs at the hospital and head home! Simple as that. Sasuke-teme will be captain of your team." Naruto crossedd his arms in pride. After Sasuke left earlier, he made good use of his time and actually did some work; which was plotting devious events for mission '_Restore Uchiha Clan'_.

"And why does Sasuke need two more people with him? I'm sure he can take care of himself." Sakura asked as she eyed the blue orbs in front of her suspiciously.

Naruto gulped loudly. "B-because. He…"

Sasuke observed the look of anxiety across the blond's face. He narrowed his eyes in anticipation.

Pulling the excuse out of his butt, he spoke up. "He told me that he's having some digestion problems. So being the only medic that he tolerates, which is you Sakura-chan, I put you aboard on this mission! So you can make sure his health isn't affecting the task."

The Uchiha's eye twitched.

However Sakura didn't seem to buy it, "And what about Sai?"

The three ninjas glanced at Sai who stared back at all of them; clueless on how he was supposed to respond. Naruto reassured her, "Sai is on this mission to make sure Sasuke doesn't do anything funny to you."

"Right…" Sakura said in a sarcastic tone before stretching and letting out a great yawn. "Well, if that's all, I'll see you two tomorrow."

They all waited until she left the room, leaving the door to close with a click.

"_Really_? I have digestion problems now?" Sasuke frowned as he folded his arms.

"Lighten up, Sasuke," Naruto chuckled, "You'll thank me later."

* * *

**A/N**

I'm so sorry for the late chapter! To make it up to anyone interested, I made it 5k+ plus :D. I was stuck many times in this chapter ._. forgive me for my mistakes.

Thank you all for the reviews! It makes me smile reading them! I hope you all are enjoying where this story is going and will appreciate future reviews/fav/follows :) . You are all encouragement to me!


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